Protect and Restore Free Flowing Oregon Rivers

As we reflect on the past year at WaterWatch, we have much to be proud of and much to be thankful for. We are especially grateful for supporters like you who continue to make it possible to protect and restore Oregon's rivers, streams, lakes, and aquifers for the fish, wildlife, and people that depend upon them.

What follows is a summary of WaterWatch’s 2024 accomplishments. A direct result of your generous support, these successes represent the culmination of major campaigns and updates on our efforts. We know our community of members, supporters, volunteers, and conservationists have been alongside us every step of the way. All of you make this work possible!

Groundwater Reform

In a major victory for long-term water sustainability, Oregon adopted amended rules in September for the issuance of new groundwater permits. These rules will better protect hydraulically connected waterways to groundwater throughout the state, ensure future groundwater right allocations are guided by a science-based process focused on long-term water sustainability and reliability, and end the “default to yes” approach the Oregon Water Resources Department had previously used when issuing new groundwater rights. The rules also establish standards for data needed to determine whether groundwater levels are reasonably stable, and (with narrow exception) require the denial of permit applications if data isn’t available. WaterWatch has long advocated for reform in this area and was a member of the Rules Advisory Committee. A big win for Oregon!

Freeing the Rogue River

With the removal of Williams-Whalen Dam this June, WaterWatch achieved our third fish barrier removal in just nine years on Evans Creek, an important salmon and steelhead spawning tributary of the Rogue River near Grants Pass. Demolition of the derelict five-foot tall, 150-foot wide concrete former diversion dam improved access to 37 miles of upstream spawning and rearing habitat for native fish. Thanks to your support for WaterWatch, Evans Creek is now entirely free-flowing at the former Williams-Whalen Dam site for the first time in 128 years. In August, WaterWatch concluded the removal of Pomeroy Dam on the Illinois River, the highest priority fish passage barrier in the Rogue Basin and among the highest priority barriers in Oregon. Removal of this outdated 10-foot tall, 160-foot wide irrigation diversion dam that lacked a fish ladder restored unimpeded access
to over 100 miles of habitat for native migratory fish. The project also improved streamflows and the landowner’s irrigation system by moving the water diversion two miles downstream to two new screened and metered pumps. Thanks to your support WaterWatch is delivering on our promise to work faster than ever to improve fish passage to high elevation cold water habitat, and bolster native Rogue fish populations against the growing impacts of climate change.

Freeing the North Umpqua River

WaterWatch and our allies successfully intervened in a state water quality enforcement proceeding in August to ensure accountability for those responsible for the environmentally catastrophic repairs in 2023 at Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River. WaterWatch testified before the Oregon Senate Interim Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire in September to demand accountability for dam owner Winchester Water Control District for violations of state fish and wildlife, water quality, water use, and dam safety requirements. We also reiterated our standing offer to work cooperatively with dam owners to accomplish removal and site restoration at little to no direct cost to them. WaterWatch continues to lead a coalition of local and statewide conservation, fishing, and whitewater advocates to bring the rule of law to this derelict dam and support its removal.

Willamette River Basin Instream Water Rights

One of WaterWatch of Oregon’s earliest accomplishments was the drafting and passage of the Instream Water Rights Act of 1987. The first of its kind in the West, this trailblazing law established a means for three state agencies to apply for water rights to protect water instream for fish and wildlife, water quality, and recreation. Since 1987, WaterWatch has tirelessly advocated for
the establishment of new instream rights, which now number over 1,700. In 2024, Oregon saw progress with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife applying for 269 new instream water rights in Willamette River Basin. When approved, these rights will help safeguard flows in beloved rivers such as the McKenzie, Tualatin, Molalla, Santiam and many more.

Collaboratives

In 2024, WaterWatchstaff worked hard in collaborative water planning processes around the state to provide a voice at the table for instream flows, fish, wildlife, ecological viability, and accountable water management. Our 2024 efforts focused on the Lower John Day, Deschutes, Harney, and Lake Abert/ChewaucanRiver basins, where we are striving to provide a brighter future for Oregon's rivers, wetlands, lakes, and all that rely upon them.

Links:

• Complete 2024 Accomplishments Report

• Complete 2024 Accomplishments Report (PDF)
  

Oregon recently welcomed new directors at three of the state’s natural resource agencies with missions related to water, including Ivan Gall at the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD), Debbie Colbert at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and Sara O’Brien at the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB). One common theme raised in all of the appointment processes this past spring was the need for change in how the state manages our water resources, with questions especially focused on the role of the new director at the Oregon Water Resources Department.

By law, all water from all sources belongs to the public in Oregon. Unfortunately, as we’ve often noted at WaterWatch, our waters have been administered for decades under a largely outdated system of laws and policies that emphasize consumptive water use rather than sustainable water management. As in other western states, Oregon’s laws allocate water on a “first come, first served” basis, meaning the earliest water rights take precedence over all other uses, i.e. the first user gets as much water as their right allows, the next person gets what’s left, and so on until there is often nothing left to distribute.

This arrangement has typically failed to recognize uses of water by native people, and until recently failed to make any consideration for flows needed by fish and wildlife. While there has been some progress over the years to update these archaic water laws and practices to better protect instream values, it remains entirely legal to dry up a stream in Oregon during the summer and fall months — even in especially dry years. Lamentably, this is a common occurrence.

While the dual mission of the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) is to “directly address Oregon’s water supply needs” and “restore and protect streamflows and watersheds in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of Oregon’s ecosystems, economy, and quality of life,” a century of mismanagement has led to over-allocated streams and declining aquifers across the state. This has left many of Oregon’s fish and wildlife, cultures, and river-related economies high and dry. With climate change making long-standing problems even worse, we cannot continue with this status quo. Oregon must modernize its approach to sustainable water management — our state’s water future depends upon it.

The appointment of Mr. Gall as director at the OWRD gives us hope the agency will continue to build upon the progress underway there. A good example of this progress are the proposed changes to the state’s groundwater allocation rules, which are expected to be adopted this fall. These science-based updates will move the state away from issuing unsustainable groundwater rights, and ensure better protection of streamflows and cold water inputs to Oregon rivers and streams from the impacts of over-pumping hydraulically-connected groundwater. They are exactly the type of change Oregon’s water management needs in order to guarantee a sustainable, equitable, and environmentally-sound water future.

WaterWatch calls on Oregon, and the OWRD in particular, to continue moving forward with the adoption and implementation of these revised groundwater allocation rules, along with these additional concerns:

Streamflow Protection and Restoration — The importance of protecting and restoring streamflows is found in statute, rule, and Oregon’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy. It is also one prong of the OWRD’s dual mission. OWRD should work with its sister agencies to ensure efficient pathways to new instream water rights, scenic waterways, and outstanding resource water designations, and build up the tools and programs needed to successfully restore streamflows in waterways across Oregon.

Measurement and Reporting of Surface Groundwater Use — Water measurement and reporting is the cornerstone of responsible water management, yet less than 20 percent of water users measure how much they take from Oregon’s rivers, streams, and aquifers. Oregon needs this data to better manage water use on the ground and plan for the future.

Environmental Review of Water Transfers — Oregon is overdue to modernize our water transfer system to ensure aquatic ecosystems are not harmed when old water rights are moved to new uses or places. Transfers provide one of the biggest loopholes in Oregon’s water laws in protecting the environment, and both rivers and fish are suffering because of it.

Enforcement Against Illegal Use — Oregon’s rivers and streams are largely over-allocated, and aquifers are declining in many parts of the state. It is more important than ever for the state to regulate and enforce laws against illegal use of water — including wasteful use of water — to ensure protection for water right holders and the environment.

Investment in Data — Oregon must continue to invest in collecting, analyzing, and distributing sound water data, including funding groundwater studies, stream gauges, and observation wells. Good data is the foundation of good decisions.

As the agency moves forward to enact change and modernize Oregon’s water management policies, we at WaterWatch urge the OWRD and its new director to focus on robust water management, including the protection and restoration of instream needs. Protecting and restoring our rivers, streams, wetlands, and lakes is written into OWRD’s mission, and strong instream protections are vital for the fish, wildlife, and the people and communities that rely on healthy rivers to survive.

Neil Brandt is the executive director of WaterWatch of Oregon. An earlier version of this article appeared as the Stream of Consciousness entry in the summer 2024 issue of WaterWatch’s Instream newsletter.

Links:

• See the story on WaterWatch's website here
• Read the full Summer Instream newsletter here